Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, turning to a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations. Bondi has been an outspoken defender of Trump. She
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CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — For Donald Trump, every defeat is just the catalyst for his next battle. No sooner had the president-elect suffered his first big reversal since winning reelection – when his scandal-tainted pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, withdrew Thursday after days of steadily worsening scrutiny over alleged sexual
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says he’s running for governor in 2026. The Republican’s announcement Thursday makes him the first major candidate from either party in the race. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is limited to two terms. It’s early to announce a 2026 candidacy, but Carr started lining up donors
Continue ReadingAP Film Writer “Barbenheimer” was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But that hasn’t stopped people from trying to recreate it. This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation “Wicked” opens against the chest-thumping sword and sandals epic “Gladiator II.” They’re calling it “Glicked” and the hope is that moviegoers will
Continue ReadingU.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade. The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google’s business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser
Continue ReadingU.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade. The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google’s business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser
Continue ReadingBy Paula Reid and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — The woman who says she had sex when she was a minor with then-Rep. Matt Gaetz told the House Ethics Committee she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017, sources familiar with her testimony tell CNN. The woman, who was 17 years
Continue ReadingAssociated Press GREEN LAKE, Wis. (AP) — A sheriff says a Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his wife and three children is in Eastern Europe but has not committed to returning home. The Green Lake County sheriff said Thursday that Ryan Borgwardt has been communicating with authorities
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police are searching for a man accused of stealing a gold-plated rose from a Manhattan church memorial honoring the victims of 9/11. The metal flower had served as the centerpiece of a memorial at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, whose long-time pastor was killed
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House passed legislation that would give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it claims support terrorism. It is a proposal that has alarmed civil liberties groups about how a second Trump presidency could use it to punish political opponents. The bill passed
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Camila Cabello are gearing up to make their presence felt in a festive concert series leading up to college football’s national championship game. The College Football Playoff announced Thursday that the hitmakers will headline the AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! starting Jan. 18 at the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Did stand-up comedians help reelect Donald Trump? Not a joke, as outgoing President Joe Biden might say. Trump has been the butt of countless late-night monologues and “Saturday Night Live” sketches for the better part of a decade, as much of Hollywood tracked the highs and lows of his political career with revulsion
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Did stand-up comedians help reelect Donald Trump? Not a joke, as outgoing President Joe Biden might say. Trump has been the butt of countless late-night monologues and “Saturday Night Live” sketches for the better part of a decade, as much of Hollywood tracked the highs and lows of his political career with revulsion
Continue ReadingAP Airlines Writer The Biden administration is on its way out of power, but that’s not ending the arguments between the administration and airlines that think they are being over-regulated. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg snapped back on Thursday at criticism from airline CEOs. Buttigieg says the regulations his department has imposed, like automatic cash refunds
Continue ReadingAP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal FAFSA form used to apply for college financial aid opened to high school seniors across the nation on Thursday, a year after a disastrous rollout by the Biden administration delayed the application for months. After weeks of testing, the Education Department says there have been no major
Continue ReadingWINDER, Ga. (AP) — The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of carrying out a deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Colin Gray was not in court during the Thursday hearing, but his lawyers told the judge during a brief hearing that their
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Former Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has died at age 78. Rell’s family say she died Wednesday at a Florida hospital following a brief illness. The Republican was lieutenant governor in 2004 when Gov. John G. Rowland resigned amid a corruption investigation. She took over the office and then won election in 2006.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Police in New Jersey’s capital have shown a pattern of misconduct, including excessive force and unlawful stops. A Justice Department report released Thursday documents arrests without legal basis, officers escalating situations with aggressive tactics and unnecessary use of pepper spray. The 45-page report comes after a roughly yearlong investigation
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police was overturned Thursday over prosecutorial issues in an Illinois Supreme Court decision that did not address his claim of innocence. The state’s highest court
Continue ReadingNIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Thousands from across the junta-led countries in Africa’s Sahel region were gathering this week in the Nigerien capital of Niamey to condemn what they call the West’s imperialist agenda and to drive support for their military regimes. The three-day anti-imperialism conference featured music and cultural displays. Delegates from Niger, Burkina Faso
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